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Cyprus sees limited power outages amid protest

The Associated Press

Updated:
02/25/2014 07:17:31 AM EST

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An angry electricity authority worker stands in front of riot police as a female riot police looks at him outside of the entrance to Parliament during a strike to protest government plans to privatize the state-run electricity organization in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Monday, Feb. 24, 2014. Protesting workers from the Electricity Authority of Cyprus gathered outside parliament as lawmakers prepared to discuss a bill on privatizing the EAC as well as the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority and the Cyprus Ports authority.

NICOSIA, Cyprus—Workers at Cyprus' main electricity company have briefly shut the power supply to several areas in the bailed-out country to protest government plans to privatize the state-owned utility.

Demetris Constantinou, union chief at the Electricity Authority of Cyprus, said outages lasted between 30 to 45 minutes Tuesday morning. He said union leaders will meet later in the day to decide whether to step up industrial action.

The outages are part of a three-day protest against legislation aimed at privatizing the EAC, as well as the country's telecommunications and ports authorities. The government has pledged to international lenders to approve the legislation by March 5.

Under Cyprus' 10 billion-euro ($13.7 billion) international bailout agreement reached last year, the government must raise some 1.4 billion euros ($1.92 billion) from such privatizations.

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